Bush Torture Memos Released By Obama: See The Complete Documents

As part of an ongoing court case, the Department of Justice released on Thursday memos issued by the Office of Legal Counsel between 2002 and 2005, detailing techniques used for interrogation of terrorism suspects. In doing so, President Obama declared:

"While I believe strongly in transparency and accountability, I also believe that in a dangerous world, the United States must sometimes carry out intelligence operations and protect information that is classified for purposes of national security. I have already fought for that principle in court and will do so again in the future. However, after consulting with the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, and others, I believe that exceptional circumstances surround these memos and require their release."

Certain aspects of the documents are redacted -- including the names of CIA officials -- but the evidence is of enough weight that Senate Judiciary chairman Patrick Leahy already felt compelled to offer the following statement:

These legal memoranda demonstrate in alarming detail exactly what the Bush administration authorized for "high value detainees" in U.S. custody. The techniques are chilling... We cannot continue to look the other way; we need to understand how these policies were formed if we are to ensure that this can never happen again. This is why my proposal for a Commission of Inquiry is necessary.

One former top official in the Bush administration blasted the publication of the memos, calling it "unbelievable," reports Politico:

"It's damaging because these are techniques that work, and by Obama's action today, we are telling the terrorists what they are," the official said. "We have laid it all out for our enemies. This is totally unnecessary. ... Publicizing the techniques does grave damage to our national security by ensuring they can never be used again -- even in a ticking-time- bomb scenario where thousands or even millions of American lives are at stake."

"I don't believe Obama would intentionally endanger the nation, so it must be that he thinks either 1. the previous administration, including the CIA professionals who have defended this program, is lying about its importance and effectiveness, or 2. he believes we are no longer really at war and no longer face the kind of grave threat to our national security this program has protected against."

The Huffington Post has obtained the memos and is putting them on the website for the public to view. Please help us read through the material and report back what you find.

PART 1

OLCMemo1 - Free Legal Forms

PART 2 (a continuation of the first document)

OLC memo 2 - Free Legal Forms

PART 3

OLC Memo 3 - Free Legal Forms

PART 4

Obama Memo 4 - Free Legal Forms

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Comments

[OgreDaddy]

09:35 PM on 05/16/2009

The only way we will ever regain our moral high ground as a nation is to show the world
that the American people will not stand for this kind of corruption.

It's about time that these so called "public servants" are investigated and prosecuted for their
crimes.

It's one thing to keep secrets as a justified matter of national security, but another thing entirely
to abuse the term "national security" as a catch all means to hide illegal activity and to avoid prosecution.

For once and for all we must show the world that in this great nation, no one is above the law.

[PhilipTaylor]

01:56 AM on 05/04/2009

Can we ignore White Collar and Government Crime? What is the Cost in the Long Run?

Ignoring White Collar Crime breeds disrespect for the law and exposes innocent people to more criminal behavior. Experts say that failure to prosecute undermines the criminal justice system, threatening public confidence and safety of our system.

What we're saying to White Collar offenders is that you can commit crime for any number of reasons but without prosecution it is essentially meaningless. Crime became meaningless so criminals ignore the laws!

One of the most obvious symptoms of contempt for the criminal justice system is individuals who commit crimes openly flouting it and continuing to commit more crimes. Illustrates the growing disrespect for the courts and the threat to public confidence in our systems. So crime grows like Toxic Assets - Parabolically or exponentially!

Look at the size of the Savings and Loan, then Enron, and now Wall Street. Each time we slap a few hands and the problem comes back several orders of magnitude larger!

We must stand for principles or lose our democracy!

[leonel]

04:47 PM on 05/02/2009

POLITICAL CRIME CONSIDERATIONS. The best outlook or opinion seems to be that it is obviously wrong and illegal but the question is what to do as far as AG Holder having to make decision. Would a jury say its beyond a reasonable doubt, is it worth the divisive and political polarization, is it in the national interest? We know what most of us think but what does the AG decide? Liberals say of course. Conservatives say of course not. Moderates say they are not sure. Pragmatists say let's do some more research, maybe start with small cases of Bush and Cheney corruption, but case has to be researched to the ninth degree. We know Republicans are in the toilet, but are we ready to flush? Cannot take a chance on blowback, unintended consequences. This is a political case, not just a legal case. The guys tortured were terrorists, still illegal, but long term consequences have to be thoughy out to not make mistake. What do foreign diplomats and lawyers think and what would their countries do? My prediction is that the whole world is right at the edge of a political revolution and so we need to not play with fire. Better a mistake of waiting than of one of losing the upper hand.

[grahamhgreen]

04:07 PM on 04/23/2009

Coming Soon:

The Film taht will put BUSH BEHIND BARS!!!

http://thetorturer.com

[Roxanna]

09:46 PM on 04/22/2009

Everyone needs to sit down and actually read the details of these memos and after reading them, not say.......What Kind Of Country Are We???

It is truly Torture.

[kashifsaeed28]

02:54 PM on 04/19/2009

I think there is nothing wrong in the fact even if Obama released the torture memos. The public should know what CIA is up to.

My Blog:
http://next-world-war.blogspot.com

[jwcmass]

03:00 PM on 04/19/2009

I agree -- certainly it's victims know what has been done to them.

[ApolloSpeaks]

11:34 AM on 04/19/2009

OBAMA'S VICTORY OVER BIN LADIN

The release of Bush's "Torture Memos" was a clear victory for Obama in the War on Islamic Terror. For the best defense in fighting Al Qaida is not be gathering actionable intelligence by questionable means; but by restoring America's values, good name and image in the world; by regaining the moral high ground, doing things by the book.

Fear not my friends, 9/11 is now a thing of the past belonging to the dark age of Bush. Bin Ladin dares not hit us again lest he risk hurting his brand. For Barack Hussein Obama's America is just too morally good.

[David Smith 2]

10:46 AM on 04/24/2009

Bin Ladin's Brand? Are you listening to yourself? You think he gives a crap what people think about him? This is an organization that has blown up their own people, their own children in the name of their cause, and you think that 9/11 won't ever happen again as long as we are nice to these people? Obama has been nothing but nice to North Korea since he has been in, has that stopped their Nuclear program? Obama has been nothing but nice to Iran, do you seen them pulling back their agenda to wipe Israel of the face of the planet? Obama has pretty much chummed up to every evil dictator this world has left and for what? World peace? Please, spare me. These people cannot be negotiated with. They cannot be convinced that the world is a good place. They cannot be convinced that America is not the great evil they think it is.

[David Smith 2]

10:46 AM on 04/24/2009

And lastly, we do these same interrogation techniques as training for our own military! So it's good enough to do to our military, but not to the trash who would rather see America burn? And let's not forget that over 30 attempts were foiled by these interrogations! If there would have been another attack you would be screaming that not enough was done by our government to protect us! And why is it, that only republicans are being named anyways? Pelosi sat in on over 25 briefings describing all this, as did other democrats on the NON-PARTISAN intelligence committee. They said nothing then. So you tell me what this is, an attempt to find justice or merely an attempt by the left to continue to attack the opposing party. It has nothing to do with justice. It's all politics my friend and you're buying it hook line and sinker...

[Didactic Curveball]

12:13 PM on 04/29/2009

We do it to select members of our military who are at the greatest risk of falling into enemy hands and of being "tortured". We do this to those military members to help prepare them for the kinds of tortures that can be used on them while in the custody of the enemy. During these training ops, these methods are referred to as "torture methods" by the instructors.

This isn't my opinion...this is fact. How do I know? I served in the first Gulf War in the USMC under MOS 7251 and flew with an F/A-18 squadron. After 9/11, I did a lateral transfer into the US Navy and flew with an F/A-18D squadron under MOS 7253. Early on in my military career and training, I went through S.E.R.E. training at Level III.

From the horse's mouth.

[willfarnaby]

01:16 AM on 04/19/2009

Right on, SFTor.

------------------------------------------
I fully agree that we should let President Obama move on to other things. The AG on the other hand---this is right in his wheelhouse.

No possible excuses can be made from his office, as the evidence is carried on the front pages of the nation's newspapers.

[citizen of the universe]

10:38 PM on 04/18/2009

I am glad the memos was released. However, I'm on the fence when it comes to prosecuting the CIA officers that adminstered the torture. My belief is that kind of behavior is so incestuous within the organization, who knows how many are involved. I believe that as a human being those who did administer torture, will live and be haunted by their actions. I think Leon Panetta should receive the names and administer punishment as he sees fit. I believe the focus should go on those who made the memos possible; those are the cowards who sent someone else to do their dirty work. I think Bush, Cheney, and the lot of them should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I believe we should direct our attention to the DOJ. It is Justice responsibility to seek and prosecute wrongs that have been committed in the name of the American people. This can not be ignored, wished away, or pardoned. America needs to come to grips with what we did and the message it sent around the world. It's time we cleaned up our own backyard, it's time we washed the blood off our hands.

[jane gutowski]

01:55 PM on 04/19/2009

I heard that Panetta was one of many who asked obama not to release those documents.Lets check out all the information and make sure all of congress who agreed to any of this should be in prison,too.Our prisons are far worse apparently than chopping off heads as our enemies do. i dont think we need to send anymore messages to the world as they hear on a daily basis how arrogant and mean we are. Next time we catch a terrorist we will ask him nicely if he will talk to us and if not we will get him a lawyer and that should do it and everyone will like us.

[talkitreal]

10:00 PM on 04/18/2009

GRADE OBAMA'S PERFORMANCE SO FAR, AS HE MAKES HIS WAY TO HIS FIRST 100 DAYS!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29493093/

[ViewersPeripheral]

02:02 AM on 04/19/2009

Wow, about 45% people actually got it right.

[klipm]

07:49 PM on 04/18/2009

There are many, many, wrongs in our past. How do we fix ourselves? We can't pass judgment when the involvement involves everyone; and so... are guilty through inaction and action. That is if one can perceive faults which many cannot or will not admit. Documents like these expose certain definitions that need to be examined carefully. I think police in many have found ways to interrogate people that ferret out criminal lies, and I kind of shudder to think of having torture be more nationally accepted as a means of gathering information than it already is. Do we next install dungeons in our police departments - in our backyards. We have to look deeper than the loaded question that popular shows like 24 ask us to answer. We can and have fought wars and terrorists within standards of honor. Be it eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth. But this is a start. We need to find ways to act on our information better! If we had 911 would never had occurred and we could still have had coffee with relatives before boarding our planes.

[jwcmass]

02:59 PM on 04/19/2009

Actually all this HAS been answered before. WE were the ones who held the leaders (and torturers and murderers) in Germany and Japan to account and put them on trial before the whole world.

And we didn't accept the defense (excuse) of "I was just following orders"

Right now we are in theh middle of an extradition hearing of a man who may have been a prison guard at onee of those camps.


Now, while this doesn't rise to the level of the crimes of Nazi Germany or WWII Japan, there are clear violations of both international law, and of US Law.

I know the President wants to go forward, (and I know he's been pressured by the rank and file of the CIA and perhaps other intelligence agencies) but this agency has scrwed up too many times for that "pressure" to be effective--after all, THEY trained the leaders of al Qaeda in the first place, over threw a democratically elected government in Iran--which led to the Iranian Revolution of 1977-79-- do I need to go on?

If a crime has been committed, then it should be investigated and prosecuted. (without prejudice and regard for the perp's office)

It's time for a special prosecutor. NOW.

It's the ONLY way to truly ensure that this will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.

[olmossy]

06:41 PM on 04/19/2009

We're not talking about innocent civilians, ovens, mass murder and genecide and pulling out fingernails and eyeballs here. Excepting the waterboarding this would have passed muster for a lot of Frat initiations. These CIA agents acted in good faith on the advice of the US Att. office and to them an independent Judge. Imagine You're questioning someone who has information on a 9-11 style attack somewhere in the world tomorrow.
One of the problems we have is our government branches are not truely independent.
The executive shops around to find a Judge who will tell them what they want to hear.
In WW2 we found enemy soldiers in civilian clothes making war on the US. They were stood up against a wall and shot.
These are enemy combatants.

[Dunderslapoldmen]

02:35 PM on 04/18/2009

OBAMA'S 1ST 85 DAYS...Banned certain interrogation techniques...closing Git*o with no clue where ter3orists will be sent....passed huge stimulus bill...nationalized the banks, insurance cos, and auto makers...massive increase in national debt...hired tax ch*ats....G20 meeting a bust...N Korea fired a missile and he didn't care....bowed down to a KIng....will talk to Iran, just for fun....opening up Cuba, with nothing in return....now buddy buddy with Chavez, a Marxist, and gets nothing in return...released
top secret papers from last admin....

Obama simply does not care for this great country.

[teepeeyoyo]

08:53 PM on 04/18/2009

It's Bush's fault.

[Dustee]

10:55 PM on 04/18/2009

Take that B. s to the wingnuts crazies that care about that rubbish.

[smartnews]

01:41 PM on 04/18/2009

More information on CIA unethical behavior

Vets sue CIA, DoD over military experiments By PAUL ELIAS, Associated Press Writer 1/7/09 SAN FRANCISCO
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090108/ap_on_re_us/cold_war_experiments_lawsuit

Veterans say CIA tested drugs, mind control on them By Jay Price - Staff Writer 1/11/09
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1362418.html or http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/01/12-8

Ottawa finally aids brainwashing victims Broadcast Date: Jan. 28, 1984 (digital clip)
http://archives.cbc.ca/society/crime_justice/clips/15125/

This week on the fifth estate - “The Sleep Room” 1/6/98
http://web.archive.org/web/20021225185605/http://www.radix.net/~jcturner/980106-Fifth-Estate.htm

The Sleep Room - Cameron
The Sleep Room’s Missing Memories by Ray Conlogue Quebec Arts Correspondent, Montreal
http://web.archive.org/web/20030402163532/www.serendipity.li/cia/slprm.html

U.S. Supreme Court UNITED STATES v. STANLEY, 483 U.S. 669 (1987) 483 U.S. 669 UNITED STATES ET AL. v. STANLEY CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
No. 86-393.
http://laws.findlaw.com/us/483/669.html

U.S. Supreme Court CIA v. SIMS, 471 U.S. 159 (1985) 471 U.S. 159 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ET AL. v. SIMS ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT No. 83-1075.
http://laws.findlaw.com/us/471/159.html

[smartnews]

01:37 PM on 04/18/2009

The CIA has a long history of torture and unethical behavior, including MK-Ultra

For more information on this, see
http://ritualabuse.us/mindcontrol/mc-documents-links/

A LOOK AT THE LAW AND GOVERNMENT MIND CONTROL THROUGH FIVE CASES
http://ritualabuse.us/mindcontrol/articles-books/the-law-and-mind-control-a-look-at-the-law-and-goverment-mind-control-through-five-cases/

Declassified MK-Ultra Project Documents:
http://www.michael-robinett.com/declass/c000.htm

MKULTRA Documents
http://www.hiddenmysteries.com/freebook/mk/

http://cryptome.org/mkultra-0001.htm
The Search for the Manchurian Candidate

The CIA and Mind Control - John Marks
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/marks.htm

List of MKULTRA Unclassified Documents (including subprojects)
http://nemasys.com/rahome/library/programming/mkultra.shtml

APPENDIX B Documents Referring To Discovery Of Additional MKULTRA Material?
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/history/e1950/mkultra/AppendixB.htm

http://ritualabuse.us/mindcontrol/mc-documents-links/mk-ultra-links-torture-based-government-sponsored-mind-control-experimentation-on-children/

http://ritualabuse.us/mindcontrol/mc-documents-links/cia-mind-control-nazis-mk-ultra-ritual-abuse-information/

The Shock Doctrine - by Naomi Klein - The Torture Lab - Ewen Cameron, the CIA and the maniacal quest to erase and remake the human mind.
http://books.google.com/books?id=b1uQNYbE8DkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=isbn:0805079831#PPA25,M1

1995 U. S. congressional hearing:

MKULTRA Victim Testimony A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iflBkRlpRy0&feature=related

MKULTRA Victim Testimony B: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXDASDDrDkM
MKULTRA Victim Testimony C: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-ES8Bv0_8w

[Hollypop]

12:55 AM on 04/18/2009

The rights and wrongs of responsibility with regards to someone acting under a higher authority are not easy to determine.
It's not easy to find out and out sadists, as it is hard for most people to do acts of violence to another unless they are acting in self defense (personally threatened) and if a government agency were to find, employ and nurture such a person it could be argued that the agency were capitalizing on an individuals weakness and the sadist should also be considered as a victim.
It was evident after the second world war when the guards at the death camps were interviewed that they had degenerated to a point where they could not morally judge their own actions.
I think Obama is right to not just go ahead and blurb out names of those involved without proper sensitive investigations.
However the buck has to and will stop somewhere and whoever is ultimately responsible for these crimes against humanity must be found and punished .....isn't this the principle behind the war on terror ?
The argument can be directly extended to Iraq ...on WHAT grounds was it morally correct to send our soldiers out to kill innocent people ?

FDR once wrote to Hitler to tell him that he believed that it was immoral to wage war against another country unless that country was actually attacking you.

Some one earlier in this discussion said ... now we are Japan. (ww2 + torture)
.... what about ... now